Poltergeist the Legacy Fanfiction: Memories
by Narek
Summary: We don't know a lot about Nick's past but here comes some information.


Poltergeist the Legacy Fanfiction-Memories

**Poltergeist the Legacy Fanfiction-Memories**

The night was colder than it had been lately, as Molly Brenner walked home from her friend's house. Molly lived in Ludinsville which was according to all, the most boring place on Earth. Nothing exciting ever happened here and Molly couldn't wait until she was old enough to move away and never come back. She was thinking of that future when she heard crying coming from bushes ahead of her. She slowly made her way there to see what it was.

"Hello, is anyone there?" she asked as she reached the bushes and moved them aside to see a young girl about eleven or twelve sitting with her knees up to her chest, crying.

"Are you okay?" Molly asked and the girl looked at her with tears falling all down her face.

"I'm lost, can you help me find my way home?" she asked.

"I can try, can you come with me," Molly said as she held out her hand and the girl took it. Molly helped the young girl out of the bushes and onto the sidewalk. The girl then turned her back to Molly as Molly dusted off her knees that were dirty from kneeling on the ground.

"Do you know where your house is?" Molly asked, but the girl still hadn't turned around, "hey, are you still okay?" Molly then began to put her hand on the girl's shoulder. When she did, she couldn't help but notice how cold she seemed.

"I'm lost, can you help me find my way home?" she asked again and Molly was confused. Molly then went to turn the girl around and when she did, she took one look at her and yelled out a blood curdling scream.

Nick was jostled awake from his nightmare and looked around frantically for a time. It took awhile for him to regain his bearings. It was then that he realized it was time for him to get up, so he shook his head to get rid of the cobwebs and got up. He was met in the kitchen by his colleagues, Alex Monroe, Rachel Corrigan and the leader of the San Francisco house, Derek Rayne. The San Francisco house, like others, was part of the Legacy which is a secret society that protects good against the forces of evil. Just like the others, he had seen things that some people would only have nightmares about it. There was so much more to the world than what normal people knew about. There were, at times, things that Nick wished he had never seen, but he managed to learn to live with it. His father had been part of the Legacy and Nick took after him, although sometimes he wished he hadn't. In his life, there were things that he wished he could forget, things in his past, but he knew he had to learn to live with them too.

He was deep in his thoughts when Derek's voice brought him out of them. Derek and the others were currently discussing a new case.

"According to the local reports, there seems to be a malevolent spirit terrorizing a small town just outside Ridgesville, Oregon called Ludinsville," Derek explained and that caught Nick's complete attention.

"Did you say Ludinsville?" he asked and they all looked to him.

"Yes, do you know of it?" Derek asked.

"Actually, yes, I lived near there for a time when I was twelve," he said.

"Well, we're going to check it out, from the accounts, it seems authentic," Derek replied and everyone agreed. Nick, however, was a bit reluctant but no one seemed to notice.

They arrived in Ludinsville in the afternoon of the next day. The first thing they did after getting a place to stay was to interview all those who had been attacked. They all told the same story. They found a young girl, crying and asked if she was okay. All she said was that she was lost and needed to find her way home. All the witnesses said that later, the girl seemed to change into a wet and grotesque figure who later disappeared. All through the stories, when they got to the part where they described what the young girl looked like, Nick always stiffened. Rachel made a note to ask him about it later, currently, they had business to attend to.

After they got the information, they decided to go to where the manifestation was seen the most often. They got there just after night fall and waited to see if it would show up. From the witnesses, they knew the entity would show up a little after ten. When the time came, they decided to split up and look around. They all went their separate ways but it was Nick who first heard the crying. He made his way toward the sound and sure enough, he found a young girl crouching on the ground, crying. He just looked at her for a long time before he made his way towards her. He slowly put his hand on her shoulder and asked her if she was okay. She immediately stopped crying and got up. Nick took a few steps back as she turned around and sure enough, she was dripping wet. They were in a stare down as the others came up behind Nick. The others were a bit confused as Nick and the girl stared at one another.

"Nicky?" the girl asked and everyone looked to Nick who just looked shocked. Right then, the little girl disappeared and just as that happened, Nick collapsed, unconscious.

Twelve year old Nick raced his bike all the way to his friends Catherine's house. He stopped in the front of her house, put this book bag around his shoulder and went up to knock on the door. Soon, Catherine's mother came to the door and smiled at him.

"Oh, hello Nick, you're here for Catty I'm assuming?" her mother said.

"Yeah, is she ready?" Nick asked and just then, Catherine showed up behind her mother, book bag in hand and they looked at each other.

"You ready?" he asked and she nodded. They then said goodbye to her mother and left on their bikes to ride to school just like any day. They had many of the same classes at Morris Jones middle school and so they spent a lot of time together. Nick thought of Catty as his best friend and he knew Catty felt the same way. Nick had only been there for a few months while his father took care of some business. He had met Catherine soon after he arrived and they had become fast friends and inseparable. After school, they did what they did everyday, which was race home on their bikes. Today, however, they took the long route which went across one of the fast moving rivers that went through this town and others. This time of the year this particular river was faster due to the winter winds. As they raced, they were both right next to each other as they crossed the bridge over the river. As they rode, they didn't see underneath where the bridge was falling apart due to lack of repair. With their added weight, the bridge finally gave way and they both fell into the water. The current sent them careening faster and faster. Nick was able to stay afloat and he saw Catherine a few feet ahead of him, going up and down in the water. He tried his hardest to get to her but the current was too strong and he lost sight of her. In the end, he managed to get to the river bank and collapsed unconscious. It was hours before he was found. They scoured the river but they found no sign of Catherine. The river later opened up into Taligo Lake, so they were doubtful they would ever find her. After a few weeks, they had a funeral for her and a week after that, Nick left with his family.

Adult Nick woke up and found himself in his bed at the motel he and the others had rented for their stay in Ludinsville. Everyone else was there and looked to him as he woke up, confused. It took him awhile before he was up to telling them the story. They listened intently through the whole thing and when he finally finished, they all took a few minutes before taking deep breaths, absorbing the information.

"What do you think she wants?" Alex asked.

"Well, she says she wants to go home, but where is that?" Rachel asked.

"Well, her mother moved away a few years after the accident, I think she believed that maybe she was still alive and would come home, but after all those years I think even she gave up."

"Any other relatives?" Derek asked.

"No, her father died when she five and it has only been her and her mother," Nick replied.

"Well, if she's a ghost, her obvious unfinished business is to get home, but we also have to find out why she decided to appear now?" Derek replied and they agreed to see if she appeared the next night at the same place.

Later, that was where they found themselves, but at the designated time, she didn't appear. They thus decided to split up again and so Nick said that he wanted to go alone just in case she would only appear to him. They reluctantly agreed but warned him to call them if he got into any trouble. With that all discussed, they went their separate ways. Nick had been walking alone for a few minutes when he felt a cold wind suddenly pick up. He stopped in his tracks and looked around but nothing happened. Then, all of a sudden, he was thrown forward, hit from behind by an invisible force. He landed on his back and when he painfully looked up, he saw Catherine. She was wet and dripping and had a very angry look on her face. They stared at each other for only a second before either of them reacted.

"Catherine," Nick said.

"You left me Nick," she said angrily, "you left me all alone."

"What do you mean?" he asked, looking up at her.

"I can't breathe Nicky, I need to go home," she said, still dripping wet and shivering a little.

"Catty, I want to help you, tell me where your home is now?" Nick pleaded, as he slowly got up. After Nick said that, she seemed to soften a little but it didn't last and she grew angry again.

"No!" she yelled, "it's your fault, I'm like this because of you and you must pay." She then got a sort of sadistic look on her face and Nick was again thrown away by an invisible force. This time, however, he was thrown into a tree. He tried to plead with her again, after that, telling her he was sorry but she would not hear it. She just threw him around some more before the others arrived and Catherine turned her attention to them as well. She took an angry look at them coming to Nick's rescue and then disappeared. Nick watched her go and then saw Derek and the others coming to him before he lost consciousness.

When Nick awoke again from the same nightmare of watching Catty being rushed away from him in the water, he found himself in a hospital. Everyone else was there and they were glad to see he was okay. After that, they began to discuss what to do next. Obviously, she was an angry spirit and they tried to talk Nick out of staying away from the area. He was the one who her anger seemed focused on but he still would not walk away. He wanted so much to help her because as far as he was concerned, it was his fault what was happening. The others told him not to blame himself but it didn't seem to help. They eventually got around to discussing how they could stop her seeing as how she now has become violent. They knew they would have to do something drastic because if she got worse, a lot more than Nick could hurt. Nick didn't like that idea because he thought that perhaps he could talk to her once more. Derek offered some other options such as a spell used to banish a ghost and it seemed that, that was their best option although Nick was opposed to it. He knew though, that he couldn't risk anyone else getting hurt. They thus decided they had no other choice but to do just that.

Nick, later, checked himself out of the hospital. Derek and the others made sure he was feeling alright and he said he was. They then gathered the things that they would need to perform the spell. When everything was ready, they went to where they had to. As before, it seemed she wouldn't show until Nick was alone, so the others decided to move away but just enough so that they could come when Catherine appeared. This time, she arrived at the exact time but just when she appeared in front of Nick, she didn't act toward him in a hostile manner. She seemed far away and distant from her facial expression.

"I want to go home," she said and Nick asked her again where her home was but she kept repeating the same phrase.

"Catty please, tell me how to help you?" Nick asked, but all she did then was let out a loud screech.

The others, who were a little way away, heard the scream and began to run towards it. When they got there, they saw Catherine shrieking right at Nick who was holding his ears in obvious pain. They knew they couldn't waste any time so they got the materials ready for the ceremony. Derek, meanwhile, went by Nick and tried to help him. He yelled for Catherine to stop because she was hurting him. It seemed, when he said that she was killing him, she did stop and glared at Derek.

"Why shouldn't I kill him, he killed me," she screamed.

"What happened to you was an accident, a horrible accident, you can't hold him responsible for that," Derek said, passionately. That seemed to get her thinking but soon her face went back to an angry stare.

"No, it's his fault, it's all his fault!" she screamed and she kept yelling it. Right then, Alex yelled over that everything was ready. Catherine looked over to them as Derek yelled for them to start. As they started, Catherine just looked at them. What surprised Derek was that she didn't try to stop them. As the spell continued and got into full swing, nothing appeared to happen and Catherine just looked confused. Eventually, they just stopped and Catherine stared at them. She then stared back at Nick who was still on the ground, hurt. Just then, she decided that she had done enough and disappeared.

After getting Nick some help, they were all together in their motel room to discuss why the spell didn't work. It was eventually Derek, who introduced the concept that maybe she wasn't a ghost, but that confused them all even more. Derek decided to elaborate and so he asked Nick more about what happened after the accident. Derek remembered that Nick had told them they had never found her body and Nick concurred. It was then that Derek decided they look for other possible leads. So, the next day, they went all around Ludinsville to see what they could find. It was only when they arrived in Corostown, which was a small community just outside Ludinsville, did they get a lead. Upon further examination, they found out that the Taligo Lake passed all the way through Corostown. So, with that knowledge, they went on a hunt. As it turned out, their hunch was right. They were able to track down a list of Jane Doe's and one of them stuck out from the rest. Apparently, a Jane Doe had been found by the river bank and had no memory of who she was. All those years ago, however, placing missing persons was not as it is today and so she was placed with a foster family in Kansas. Knowing this now, Nick and the others looked up to see where she lived now and found out that she had relocated to Billingford, a town a few miles from Ludinsville. Derek, with all this information in front of him, gave an explanation of what must have happened. He explained that Catherine's spirit was not a ghost but a manifestation or astral form of this woman, Katie, as she went by now, subconscious or the part of her that remembers who she is. This form, however, without a connection to a body was confused and angry, made up only of emotion and nothing else. Upon hearing this, Nick knew that they had to get these two back together, only then would they will be able to be whole and remember. They all agreed but first they had to convince Catherine's astral form to accompany them. With that plan made, they went to the last place they saw her and at the same time as before, she showed up. She saw them and before she could use her powers against them, Nick spoke up.

"Wait, Catty, let me talk to you," he said.

"No, I won't listen to you, you left me to die!" she yelled and she was about to throw him but he held up his hands to stop her.

"Stop, don't, you're not dead," he said quickly and that seemed to give her pause, so he took that time to explain what they found out and surprisingly, she listened.

"You're not dead, this form of yours is only a manifestation, you're real body still exists and we can take you there, if you let us, you can be whole again, everything, your pain, it can end," Nick explained and she looked as if she were going to cry.

"How?" she asked, near tears.

"Come with me," he said and he held out his hand to her that, after a moment, she took.

Nick and the others arrived outside of the Katie woman's house a few hours later and Nick, alone, went up to the door and rang the bell. It only took a few moments before the door was opened by a woman who Nick had to take a long look at. This woman was a spitting image of Catherine when she was younger, so he knew who she was. The woman herself just looked confused, not knowing who this man was at her door.

"Can I help you?" she asked as she saw Nick stare at her.

"Are you Katie Winmestor?" he asked.

"Yes, what can I do for you?"

"Actually, there's something I can do for you," Nick said and he stopped aside to reveal young Catherine. Katie stood there gapping, in shock, recognizing her younger self.

"What is this?" she asked, shocked. Nick looked to young Catherine who seemed overjoyed at seeing herself and he encouraged her to continue forward. Little Catherine took one look at Nick, smiled, and then went forward going right into Katie who, after it was over, took a few steps backward. It took a few moments before Catherine looked at herself, her hands and looked at Nick, a little confused.

"Nicky?" she asked, confused and Nick smiled.

"Yeah Catty, it's me," he said and she finally smiled.

Later, Nick and Catherine sat in Nick's car alone outside of Catherine's mother's house. Derek and the others had left the rest up to Nick and gone back to San Fransico.

"What do I say to her?" Catherine asked, looking at the house.

"Why don't you start with hi, the rest, tell her when the time is right, I think she'll just be happy to see you," Nick replied.

"I'm scared," she said.

"Well that's normal, but I don't think she ever gave up hope you were alive and would make you're way home one day," Nick replied and Catherine looked to Nick.

"How can I ever thank you?" she asked.

"Hey, you don't have to, I'm just glad you're alive and safe."

"Yeah," she said giving him a hug and then looked at the house again. She then took a deep breath and opened the car door, shutting it behind her. Nick watched as she walked up to the door and knocked on it. Her mother opened the door and the two looked at each other for the longest time.

"Mom?" Catherine said as tears began to fill her eyes.

"Catherine?" her mother asked, in obvious shock before they both hugged and held each other very tightly. Nick watched and smiled, knowing that everything was now as it should be.


End file.
